Ending the race to the bottom on immigration
Over the last five days the leaders of three political parties have made speeches about immigration. Cameron’s latest speech suggests that there is now a race to the bottom on immigration.
Immigration
EU migrants flooding over here…paying for our pensions
Now that we’ve pulled apart the idea that newly-arrived immigrants are being fast-tracked to social housing ahead of indigenous Britains, it’s worth a quick look at the myth that immigrants are somehow a drain on the economy; that there is a pressing need to “get tough” with them, send them home, afflict various hardships on them, whatever takes your right-wing fancy.
Economic failure, backbenchers out of control – blame the immigrants
Terrified of hemorrhaging voters to Ukip, the Conservatives have started to rattle the stick around the swill bucket again on immigration.
Budget 2013: Immigration ought to be encouraged to support economic growth – but don’t hold your breath
Across the country the very firms which are supposed to be seizing opportunities to return the economy to growth are encountering the tangle of immigration regulations which obstruct a significant part of their business plans to win export orders and expand into new markets.
Dynamic economies need low-skilled migration
Migrant workers have been key to the recent success of intensive horticulture and food processing. Without them, many businesses in these sectors would have gone under. It is time the migration debate acknowledged the contribution made by low-skilled migrants.
People in Guildford don’t vote BNP
Yesterday Ed Miliband made another step in reframing Labour’s position on immigration. With Ukip surging in the polls and likely to come first in next year’s European elections, and the media already beginning their racist attacks on Bulgarians and Romanians, Labour has a choice. They can follow the Conservatives in drifting to the right in the hope of choking off Ukip support or they can offer a positive, more progressive alternative that deals with concerns over immigration but in a wider context.
Tory drive to limit foreign students is damaging Britain’s reputation abroad
The UK had nine institutions in the top 100 universities this year – three fewer than in 2011, according to the latest figures from the Times Higher Education. The Tories were warned that imposing an arbitrary limit on student numbers would damage Britain’s educational reputation abroad.
How best to support an ageing population? More immigration
The financial stressed put on the welfare state by Britain’s ageing population could be assuaged by higher levels of immigration.
MigrationWatch is scaremongering, as usual
MigrationWatch is more interested in scaremongering than getting the facts right.
New research confirms the government’s net migration target is unsustainable
Arbitrary targets to reduce migration are unlikely to work, argues Sarah Mulley of the Institute for Public Policy Research.